Often in literature, Pakistani Punjabi (written in Shahmukhi) is referred as Western-Punjabi (or West-Punjabi) and Indian Punjabi (written in Gurmukhi) is referred as Eastern-Punjabi (or East-Punjabi), although the underlying language is the same with a very slight shift in vocabulary towards Islamic and Sikh words respectively.
Punjabi language, one of the most widely spoken Indo-Aryan languages. The old British spelling “Punjabi” remains in more common general usage than the academically precise “Panjabi.” In the early 21st century there were about 30 million speakers of Punjabi in India.
Punjabi is the tenth most commonly spoken language in the world and one of the most respected languages in South Asia. More than 130 million around the world speak this language.
With many bilingual Punjabi speakers in classrooms and clinics, understanding the features of Punjabi included in this article is essential for providing effective support.
Punjabi descended from the Shauraseni language of medieval northern India and became a distinct language during the 11th century. There are two main varieties of Punjabi: Eastern Punjabi and Western Punjabi, each of which has a number of dialects.
Punjabi Muslims are found almost exclusively in Pakistan with 97% of Punjabis who live in Pakistan following Islam, in contrast to Punjabi Sikhs and Punjabi Hindus who predominantly live in India.
The predominant ethnolinguistic group of the Punjab region are the Punjabi people, who speak the Indo-Aryan Punjabi language of South Asia. Punjabi Muslims are the majority in Pakistani Punjab, while Punjabi Sikhs are the majority in Indian Punjab.
The Punjabi language has a variety of dialects (bōlīyāṁ) which form a dialect continuum and are primarily subdivided into two groups: Eastern Punjabi in the east, and Lahnda (Western Punjabi) in the west.